Acute and chronic allograft rejection are the most common causes of allograft failure. A further understanding and improved treatment of acute and chronic rejection are of critical importance and will optimize transplantation as a successful treatment modality in certain disease states such as kidney and heart failure. The development of chronic rejection is reported to be associated with acute rejection. Indeed, acute allograft rejection episodes are most predictive for the development of chronic rejection. Chronic allograft rejection is a complex multicellular process which generally occurs months to years after organ grafting and is characterized by pathological features such as graft arteriosclerosis. Therefore, additional methods of suppressing acute allograft rejection can also increase the longevity of individuals with organ transplants.
Thus, there is a continued need to develop new and improved methods of inhibiting allograft rejection to promote the quality of life of subjects, such as human transplant patients.